I think the others did a good job explaining it, but I'm going to explain it how I explain it to new players in hopes that it helps.
The average creature does damage during the normal combat damage step. This is pretty basic and easy to understand.
First strike creatures do combat damage in a separate combat step from normal creatures and it happens before the normal combat damage step.
So during each combat phase, there are two combat step, first strike damage and normal combat damage. It happens every combat phase, but if there are no creatures doing damage during the first strike damage step, it's skipped.
Double strike creatures do combat damage during both these steps. So here's how it looks essentially:
First strike combat step - Creatures with first strike and creatures with double strike
Normal combat step - Creatures with double strike and all other creatures
I think he's broken. It's possible to have a 4/5 or 5/6 creature on turn 2 without any real drawback? Yeah, that's a pretty good card. Would this card be broken or even printed?
1G
When ~ becomes the target of a spell or ability sacrifice it.
8/8
This is essentially what people are saying Tarmogoyf is, but this dies to more removal than Tarmogoyf. Tarmogoyf doesn't die to all removal, just some. The card is still pretty broken. There's a reason Wizards has said they will never reprint this card and that it was a mistake that was overlooked.
I like this deck and I have been playing it for a few days now,it's really fun to play.I play Garruks instead of Ruinblasters,because there is not that much nonbasic lands in my meta.Garruk has proven valuable when trying to ramp into one of the many big guys early in the game.You can cast Ultimatum easier by untapping lands,or you could tap lands,untap two,play Baloth or Ob,then drop a land which is also very good.
BTW,I had a bit too much time on my hands and i made this. I hope you guys like it
That's pretty awesome.
I got to test this deck out over the weekend. My roommate and I have this, Jund, and Boros built. This deck is probably 75/25 vs Jund, which is good cause it's the bulk of the meta. But it's 25/75 vs Boros, which is bad because it's second best deck (well second most played) in the meta.
One game my roommate destroyed all my lands (Turn 4 Ultimatum while on play) and I was at a full 20 life with a hand of cards. If I hit 1 land, then I could have stabilized because all my cards in hand cost just 1. But I couldn't hit that land. He eventually killed me with Lotus Cobra and Acid Slime.
Probably too good to be true. They don't even have Eventide listed, and I can't find the "add to cart" or "buy" link or anything on the page to actually buy it.
Maybe it's just me, but how is it a 2 for 1 risk? It's a global enchantment, meaning if your creature dies... nothing happens to the enchantment. It sticks around waiting for your next creature to come out to possibly pump.
I am not saying this card is good by any means, I just don't see the 2 for 1 logic. It's also 7 in the morning and I'm kind of sick, so excuse me for not seeing the obvious (assuming it is obvious :)).
And last thing, I say the card is worth testing. What's the worst that could happen? It fails and you realize that it's not that good. Well nothing we didn't already assume, but if it does well, then keep it. Don't listen to what others say on these forums. Most are douchebags, unfortunately, and do not give constructive criticism. They say a card is bad without any reason, testing results, or anything that could be considered useful.
I think that WotC basically is in love with Zendikar. It's as though it's the child they always wanted.
Now I've been playing since not long after tenth edition's release, so roughly 2 years or so. But Zendikar is by far my favorite set thus far. It's not as powerful as Lorwyn was, but it definitely has a lot of great ideas in it and WotC is obviously proud of them.
Landfall? Great idea.
Enemy colored fetches? They were just waiting for a perfect set to put them in.
3 amazing and flavorful Planeswalkers? Check.
Full art land? What took so long?
Priceless treasures? Who saw this coming? No one.
WotC did everything they could to ensure this set would sell well and they did it right. From a business standpoint I can't help but feel that this is their biggest success story in a while (I may be wrong).
With that being said, if they took something that was so special to this set and applied it to every single future set released, it loses it's appeal. I mean, having full art lands is great and all, but if they do it once every 3 - 4 years, then the set they do it in will sell very well.
Plus, from a thematic standpoint, it makes sense in this set. This set, thus far, is all about lands. Landfall is an important mechanic. Worldwake is supposed to have another mechanic for lands that was missing in Zendikar (speculated to be man lands, and I agree) which just really helps with theme.
If I can get some testing in between now and then, I don't know. If not, it'll probably be Jund since I'm very comfortable and familiar with the deck. It's proven to do well for me so far at FNMs, and with the changes I've made after seeing worlds, it feels stronger. We'll see.
If I do get to test, I'll test out Magical Christmas Land (name alone just let's you know this deck is awesome), 16 land white weenie, U/W control, or Jacerator.
No read this thread, so maybe my point has been made. Sorry if it has.
Look at it like this:
Some guy pilots a Jund deck with 4 Rampant Growth instead of Putrid Leech to a number 1 finish at an FNM is hardly credible.
A pro pilots the exact same deck to a 6 - 0 record at worlds against other pros people start to see the light.
I started playing Magic back when 10th edition was released, so I haven't played very long. I always opposed playing the widely played deck in the meta. Didn't like Faeries or 5CC last meta. But in this Meta I love Jund. Why? Because the deck is fun. So I would like to think that my experience with Jund is pretty top notch for a mediocre at best player. So when people were suggesting take out Putrid Leech I would be in the group that would go, "LULZ N00B U R TEH SUCK!" because I see the card as one of the best two drops. Then after seeing worlds decks not run it and running mana fixers (Borderland Ranger and Rampant Growth) I see that is a better card for this deck. Putrid Leech is still an amazing card.
But I will say this, I am not a complete sheep in following the "meta deck". I still like running cards I find as fun and very good. So I run 3 Malakir Bloodwitch maindeck in my Jund. I'm sure if I suggested that in the Jund thread, it would be met with a lot of "GTFO N00B" and so on, so I don't. But I will say the card has been the best creature in my deck. It usually sticks on the table without problem. Few cards can remove this guy from the board, and usually it results in them sweeping the whole table, which is usually good for the Jund player.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not bad to be a sheep and follow what the pros do. They've proven themselves time and time again as formidable players and innovators. They know what they're doing. The average FNM player... well not so much. But even if you are a sheep, don't hesitate to test your own ideas. Whatever works out for you is great. Others may not agree, but what's the big deal? At least you're having fun and you know you did something innovative. And maybe the pros will do it too.
I just started play a couple months ago, and I realize now that my play group is kind of weird. They all do mana shuffles, and you aren't allowed to shuffle their decks at any time, just cut it once. One guy goes as far as to weave his spells, creatures, and lands in a distinct pattern within his deck.
I think this is all kind of nonsense, but I'm new, and they think I am full of BS. Am I right here?
Since you're just playing casually, you don't have to enforce tournament rules. You and your playgroup, however, should come to some type of common agreement about how to shuffle your decks. However, the guy that weaves his spells, creatures, and lands in a distinct pattern would never play a game with me. Why not just play with your library face up and tutor every time you need to draw?
Ok, so I'm looking to play a deck other than Jund. I like Jund. It does well for me, but it's just flooded the meta game too much. And it's just not that much fun. Looking for something a bit different, so this caught my attention and I can almost build it. Without further ado, here's my deck I'm thinking about.
Well I just drew up a deck list real quick. It's not been tested at all and it's just going based on theory on how I would like the deck to work. So without further ado
The average creature does damage during the normal combat damage step. This is pretty basic and easy to understand.
First strike creatures do combat damage in a separate combat step from normal creatures and it happens before the normal combat damage step.
So during each combat phase, there are two combat step, first strike damage and normal combat damage. It happens every combat phase, but if there are no creatures doing damage during the first strike damage step, it's skipped.
Double strike creatures do combat damage during both these steps. So here's how it looks essentially:
First strike combat step - Creatures with first strike and creatures with double strike
Normal combat step - Creatures with double strike and all other creatures
Hopes this helps you resolve any issues.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ob Nixilis comes down on turn 5 anyways...
1G
When ~ becomes the target of a spell or ability sacrifice it.
8/8
This is essentially what people are saying Tarmogoyf is, but this dies to more removal than Tarmogoyf. Tarmogoyf doesn't die to all removal, just some. The card is still pretty broken. There's a reason Wizards has said they will never reprint this card and that it was a mistake that was overlooked.
That's pretty awesome.
I got to test this deck out over the weekend. My roommate and I have this, Jund, and Boros built. This deck is probably 75/25 vs Jund, which is good cause it's the bulk of the meta. But it's 25/75 vs Boros, which is bad because it's second best deck (well second most played) in the meta.
One game my roommate destroyed all my lands (Turn 4 Ultimatum while on play) and I was at a full 20 life with a hand of cards. If I hit 1 land, then I could have stabilized because all my cards in hand cost just 1. But I couldn't hit that land. He eventually killed me with Lotus Cobra and Acid Slime.
I am not saying this card is good by any means, I just don't see the 2 for 1 logic. It's also 7 in the morning and I'm kind of sick, so excuse me for not seeing the obvious (assuming it is obvious :)).
And last thing, I say the card is worth testing. What's the worst that could happen? It fails and you realize that it's not that good. Well nothing we didn't already assume, but if it does well, then keep it. Don't listen to what others say on these forums. Most are douchebags, unfortunately, and do not give constructive criticism. They say a card is bad without any reason, testing results, or anything that could be considered useful.
Now I've been playing since not long after tenth edition's release, so roughly 2 years or so. But Zendikar is by far my favorite set thus far. It's not as powerful as Lorwyn was, but it definitely has a lot of great ideas in it and WotC is obviously proud of them.
Landfall? Great idea.
Enemy colored fetches? They were just waiting for a perfect set to put them in.
3 amazing and flavorful Planeswalkers? Check.
Full art land? What took so long?
Priceless treasures? Who saw this coming? No one.
WotC did everything they could to ensure this set would sell well and they did it right. From a business standpoint I can't help but feel that this is their biggest success story in a while (I may be wrong).
With that being said, if they took something that was so special to this set and applied it to every single future set released, it loses it's appeal. I mean, having full art lands is great and all, but if they do it once every 3 - 4 years, then the set they do it in will sell very well.
Plus, from a thematic standpoint, it makes sense in this set. This set, thus far, is all about lands. Landfall is an important mechanic. Worldwake is supposed to have another mechanic for lands that was missing in Zendikar (speculated to be man lands, and I agree) which just really helps with theme.
If I do get to test, I'll test out Magical Christmas Land (name alone just let's you know this deck is awesome), 16 land white weenie, U/W control, or Jacerator.
Look at it like this:
Some guy pilots a Jund deck with 4 Rampant Growth instead of Putrid Leech to a number 1 finish at an FNM is hardly credible.
A pro pilots the exact same deck to a 6 - 0 record at worlds against other pros people start to see the light.
I started playing Magic back when 10th edition was released, so I haven't played very long. I always opposed playing the widely played deck in the meta. Didn't like Faeries or 5CC last meta. But in this Meta I love Jund. Why? Because the deck is fun. So I would like to think that my experience with Jund is pretty top notch for a mediocre at best player. So when people were suggesting take out Putrid Leech I would be in the group that would go, "LULZ N00B U R TEH SUCK!" because I see the card as one of the best two drops. Then after seeing worlds decks not run it and running mana fixers (Borderland Ranger and Rampant Growth) I see that is a better card for this deck. Putrid Leech is still an amazing card.
But I will say this, I am not a complete sheep in following the "meta deck". I still like running cards I find as fun and very good. So I run 3 Malakir Bloodwitch maindeck in my Jund. I'm sure if I suggested that in the Jund thread, it would be met with a lot of "GTFO N00B" and so on, so I don't. But I will say the card has been the best creature in my deck. It usually sticks on the table without problem. Few cards can remove this guy from the board, and usually it results in them sweeping the whole table, which is usually good for the Jund player.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not bad to be a sheep and follow what the pros do. They've proven themselves time and time again as formidable players and innovators. They know what they're doing. The average FNM player... well not so much. But even if you are a sheep, don't hesitate to test your own ideas. Whatever works out for you is great. Others may not agree, but what's the big deal? At least you're having fun and you know you did something innovative. And maybe the pros will do it too.
Since you're just playing casually, you don't have to enforce tournament rules. You and your playgroup, however, should come to some type of common agreement about how to shuffle your decks. However, the guy that weaves his spells, creatures, and lands in a distinct pattern would never play a game with me. Why not just play with your library face up and tutor every time you need to draw?
3x Rupture Spire
1x Magosi, the Waterveil
3x Crumbling Necropolis
7x Island
7x Mountain
4x Sphinx of Jwar Isle
2x Sphinx of Lost Truths
2x Obelisk of Alara
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Burst Lightning
4x Double Negative
3x Traumatic Visions
2x Volcanic Fallout
3x Earthquake
4x Into the Roil
3x Jace Beleren
2x Rite of Replication
2x Essence Scatter
2x Negate
3x Swerve
2x Pithing Needle
1x Volcanic Fallout
2x Mindbreak Trap
3x Flashfreeze
It's 60 maindeck, but I'm thinking of upping it to 61 for a 1x Banefire, but I'm not sure yet. I'll play test both ways and see what works best.
4x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
4x Putrid Leech
3x Oracle of Mul Daya
Accel and Landfall help - 10
4x Harrow
4x Khalni Heart Expedition
2x Grim Discovery
4x Maelstrom Pulse
3x Doom Blade
Utility - 7
4x Sign in Blood
3x Vines of Vastwood
4x Verdant Catacomb
4x Terramorphic Expanse
9 Swamp
8 Forest
No sideboard, just a rough draft on a deck list.